Sanitary blanket



Sept. 20, 1966 R. Y. MILLAR SANITARY BLANKET Filed June 15, 1964 RUTHERFORD Y. MILLAR INVENTOR.

"a lownsenJ lownsena United States Patent 3,273,176 SANITARY BLANKET Rutherford Y. Millar, 1596 Greenwood Drive,

- Calistoga, Calif. Filed June 15, 1964, Ser. No. 375,046 Claims. (Cl. 5334) This invention relates to a blanket provided with a removable flap at one end which may be disposed of and replaced after a period of use.

It is common experience, particularly among patrons of public accommodations, that after sleeping in a bed, even between sheets, one often awakens to find one end of the blanket in physical contact around the body and face. Such experience is not only distasteful to the patron but can also be unsanitary.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a blanket with an extension flap for attachment to one end having means whereby the flap may be detached and disposed of after use by one individual and a clean replacement attached thereto for subsequent use.

A feature and advantage of this invention is that although the extension fiap may be disposed after use, the flap may be made of a fabric or other material which may be washed or cleaned prior to subsequent re-use as an extension flap to the blanket.

It is another object of this invention to make the removable extension fiap of the blanket of disposable paper material or the like that may be replaced with very little cost and inconvenience.

It is also an object of one embodiment of this invention to provide both the permanent and the disposable flap portions of the blanket with mating zipper strips to facilitate the joining and removal of the flap portion.

A feature and an advantage herein is that the flap portion of the blanket may be treated and shaped at one edge to form a zipper strip or the like which is designed to join the zipper strip or other detachable fastener means attached to the permanent portion of the blanket.

An object of another embodiment of this invention is to provide the portions of the blanket that are to be joined together with a plurality of grippers attached along one edge of each of the blanket portions in spaced relation so that the opposed grippers or fasteners may be detachably secured together to hold the flap to the permanent portion of the blanket.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent upon the reading of the more detailed description of the invention which follows herein.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary bed showing a blanket embodying this invention and placed in position for normal use.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view taken along 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective View similar to FIGURE 2 but showing an alternate embodiment of a portion of this invention.

This invention embodies the use of a removable and disposable fiap portion which is attachable to one end of a blanket so that after use by one individual the disposable portion may be removed and a second similar portion of removable and disposable material, or material that can be washed or cleaned between periods of usage, attached thereto.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a bed is indicated generally at A having placed upon it bed covering or blanket B comprising the relatively permanent cloth blanket body 11 and flap portion 12. The flap is attached to the blanket body along the line 13 by any suitable readily detachable fastening means, as for example by the two means to be described hereinbelow in some detail.

FIGURE 2 shows the attachment along line 13 of flap 12 to blanket body 11 by means of a zipper. One strip 15 of the zipper is attached to the flap portion 12 while the other strip 16 is attached to blanket body 11. Joining means or zipper fob 17 is used to secure the flap to the blanket body. When it is desired to remove flap portion 12, it is merely necessary to unzip strip 16 from 15 by means of fob 17 and remove the disposable flap portion 12. A clean flap portion replacement may then be placed in position with the mating zipper strip brought into operating contact with the Zipper strip on blanket 11 and fob 17, details of which are known in the art and not shown in the drawings. The flap may then be joined to the blanket throughout its adjacent end portions by merely manipulating the Zipper fob 17 in the direction of arrow 18.

It is understood that the removable flap portion 12 may be formed from a disposable paper or felt paper product which approximates the weight, consistency, and texture of the relatively permanent portion of the blanket 11; a fabric material or the like which may be washed or cleaned between periods of usage may also be used. Moreover, such materials may be treated and formed so that one edge comprises zipper strip 15 for mating attachment to zipper strip 16 of relatively permanent blanket portion 11. One such method believed to be satisfactory involves the impregnation of a t-hermo-setting phenol formaldehyde resin along one edge of the replaceable paper flap. Af-ter impregnation with such material and setting of the edge to form a workable plastic margin, the zipper form may be imbossed or die cut along the edge of the flap thus eliminating the need of separate zipper attachment.

Another technique believed to be satisfactory for the formation of fastener fittings integral with the flap where the latter is made of a paper product, is to treat the pulp that is to be used for the flap production in a manner similar to the teaching of the US. Patent No. 2,804,418 to King. The edge of the flap may then be cured to form a flexible plastic edge which may be shaped in the configuration of a zipper or other detachable fastening means.

FIGURE 3 shows an alternate embodiment of my invention wherein removable and disposable flap portion 112 is joined to relatively permanent blanket body portion 111 along line 113. Securing of flap 112 to 111 is accomplished by a plurality of snap fasteners indicated generally by 114. Each snap 114 comprises a male member 116 designed to fit into and be frictionally held by a female member 117. Attachment of the flap portion to the blanket portion 111 is accomplished by joining together corresponding male and female members that are spaced apart on the extension flap and the adjoining portion of the blanket, respectively, so as to coincide with one another.

In the embodiment above described it is understood that the gripper means associated with the flap portion may be impressed thereon using techniques similar to that described above for zipper strips. For example, the flap portion formed from paper or fabric material may be impregnated or otherwise treated in a manner similar to that of King described above to form a suitable plastic reinforcing along one edge. After such impregnation or other treatment the gripper means may be integrally formed therein by techniques known in the art of embossing.

After use, either as described above with the application of zippers or by gripper means, the disposable and removable flap portion may be removed from the relatively permanent blanket portion and disposed. Alternatively, if the flap is made of a material that can be cleaned or washed, such cleaning or was-hing may be performed. A clean or unused flap portion, with either a zipper strip 15 or gripper means 116 spaced to correspond to the receiving zipper 17 or gripper means 117, respectively, then may be attached to the relatively permanent portion of the blanket for subsequent use.

It is understood that other forms of attachment may be used between the flap portion 12 and blanket body portion 11 to form other alternative embodiments of a nature similar to that described above, for example in FIGURE 3.

The foregoing specification has described my invention in some detail in respect to two satisfactory embodiments of fasteners and two classes of materials for the flap portion. Such detail has been set forth for purposes of clarity of understanding and illustration, but it is intended that this invention may be practiced in other manners requiring certain modifications of the foregoing specification within the scope of my invention and appended claims.

In the claims:

1. A bed covering comprising: a blanket body formed of relatively lasting material; an extension flap of generally the same width and of substantially shorter length than said blanket body; means secured to one end of said blanket body to attach removably one end of the flap to said end of the blanket, and wherein said means comprises: a first zipper strip attached along one edge of said blanket body; a second zipper strip attached along one edge of said flap, said second zipper strip designed to join said first zipper strip; joining means attached to said zipper strips to join said second zipper to said first zipper.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 and wherein one edge of said flap is shaped to form said second zipper strip.

3. A bed covering comprising: a blanket body formed of relatively lasting material; an extension flap of generally the same width and of substantially shorter length than said blanket body; means secured to one end of said blanket body to attach removably one end of the flap to said end of the blanket, and wherein said means comprises:

a plurality of first gripper means attached along one said end, said first gripper means spaced apart at intervals along said end; and a plurality of second gripper means attached along the other said end, said first gripper means designed to engage and hold said second gripper means and spaced at intervals along the other said edge to receive the second gripper means.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 and wherein one end of said flap is shaped to form said plurality of first gripper means.

5. A blanket comprising a first section of relatively permanent material and a second section of disposable material, said first section forming about two-thirds to nine-tenths of the total length of said blanket and said second section forming about one-third to one-tenth the total length of said blanket; and means attached to said first section and said second section adapted to secure and release said sections from attachment to each other, whereby said second section is removable from said first section for disposal after a period of use and replaceable with a similar section of disposable material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 992,101 5/1911 Adams 5335 1,409,961 3/1922 McKinney 5-335 1,959,319 5/1934 Sipe 15666 2,178,984 11/ 1939 Zimmerman 15666 3,063,749 11/ 1962 Struble et al 5-334 3,083,378 4/1963 Pursell 5334 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

CARMIR A. NUMBERG, Examiner.

A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BED COVERING COMPRISING: A BLANKET BODY FORMED OR RELATIVELY LASTING MATERIAL; AN EXTENSION FLAP OF GENERALLY THE SAME WIDTH AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY SHORTER LENGTH THAN SAID BLANKET BODY; MEANS SECURED TO ONE END OF SAID BLANKET BODY TO ATTACH REMOVABLY ONE END OF THE FLAP TO SAID END OF THE BLANKET, AND WHEREIN SAID MEANS COMPRISES: A FIRST ZIPPER STRIP ATTACHED ALONG ONE EDGE OF SAID BLANKET BODY; A SECOND ZIPPER STRIP ATTACHED ALONG ONE EDGE OF SAID FLAP, SAID SECOND ZIPPER STRIP DESIGNED TO JOIN SAID FIRST ZIPPER STRIP; JOINING MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID ZIPPER STRIPS TO JOIN SAID SECOND ZIPPER TO SAID FIRST ZIPPER. 